Archive for November, 2009

We are proud to announce our newest Farmer’s 4 Causes partner is the Backstoppers!  This amazing non-profit organization is devoted solely to the support of the families who survive fallen Police and Firefighters.  Starting today, when you carry a Farmer’s 4 Causes card for Backstoppers, we’ll send up to 10% of every purchase straight to the Backstoppers.  Now you can support our everyday heroes just by shopping for the freshest fruits and vegetables in town!

Learn more about Backstoppers by visiting their website.

As a group, we’re down nearly 230 lbs in just 9 weeks!  We’re in the home stretch now just in time for the temptation of holiday meals and sweets.  Never fear!  The Farmer’s 4 Fitness gang won’t let a silly old Pumpkin Pie slow us down

Here’s your chance to win the hottest gift going this Christmas season!  From our friends at Jan’s Hallmark Shops, we are going to give the adorable Mr. Squiggles to one lucky Fan of Belleville Farmer’s Market!  Here are your instructions:

Pictured below are the receipts from Farmer’s 4 Education, Farmer’s 4 Faith, and Farmer’s 4 Causes transactions from the month of October.  Earlier today I weighed the receipts on one of our retail scales here at the N. Belt store along with the 24 paper clips and 7 rubber bands that hold the entire stack together.

To be eligible for a FREE Mr. Squiggles, the winning Fan must submit the closest guess to the total weight of the receipts pictured above without going over.  I will give you a hint and tell you that the weight is not below 0.75 lbs and not above 2.50 lbs. Since there will be many guesses, please post your estimates down to the 100th of a pound.  For example, don’t guess 2lbs, guess 2.00 lbs or 2.01 lbs.  In case multiple correct guesses, we will select the winner in the order the answers were submitted.  One guess per Fan please!

For most businesses, sending over $1,500/month back to local schools would have been enough…but we didn’t stop there.  We’ve taken the success of Farmer’s 4 Education and extended it to some of the most worthy non-profit organizations in the Belleville area.  Our Farmer’s 4 Causes initiative just launched last month and we’ve already raised $318 in three weeks for the Belleville Area Humane Society, Hospice of Southern Ill, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Violence Prevention Ctr, and the 42Foundation!

I’m pleased to announce that we’re adding another non-profit partner that you can start signing up in our stores to support immediately – The Illinois Center for Autism! We’re going to kick off their participation with a bang when we attend their Annual Trivia Night on November 14th.  We’ll be in person signing folks up to send up to 10% of their spending in our stores back to support the amazing work they’re doing for Autistic individuals in St. Clair County.

We’ll also be Puttin’ on the Ritz with the Hospice of Southern Illinois at their annual Gala at the St. Clair Country Club.  Hospice already has over 50 cardholders that have enrolled in-store so we can easily reach the 6% rebate level by enrolling the attendees at the Gala on November 14th.

Here’s the rundown for October’s rebates…

Belleville Area Humane Society $175.63

Violence Prevention Center $71.10

Hospice of Southern Illinois $43.70

Big Brothers / Big Sisters $28.31

Abraham Lincoln $196.30

Douglas $55.44

Franklin $52.61

Henry Raab $37.53

Jefferson $51.50

Roosevelt $102.15

Union $44.33

Washington $22.35

Westhaven $106.19

High Mount $71.58

Wolf Branch $104.28

Millstadt Primary $50.45

Whiteside $70.03

Signal Hill $39.95

Smithton $69.61

Emge $25.80

Ellis $46.41

Cathedral Grade School $66.32

Blessed Sacrament $92.44

St. Mary/St. Augustine $156.12

St. John Smithon $22.03

St. Paul’s M.D.O $71.81

Harry continues his assault on his waistline and the rest of the competitors!  He’s now dropped over 15% of his starting weight (over 43lbs!).  Sherry is still in second place (down 12%), with Annmarie close behind now down nearly 30lbs from her starting weight just 7 weeks ago!   Angie (High Mount) was the week’s winner dropping an awesome 5.4 lbs or 2.5% during Halloween Week?!?!  Wow, that’s an accomplishment!  She takes the $10 Gift Card to the Swansea Subway this week.

Remember, there’s no smoke and mirrors here.  The group as a whole is now down 188.9 lbs in just 7 weeks.  No miracle pills, no infomercial exercise gizmos, and no stomach zapping electrical belts.  This is all being accomplished with a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, sensible meal choices, and lots of exercise at the YMCA.  Next time somebody says diet and exercise just aren’t enough to make a difference – get their email address and send them the link to the leaderboard below!